11/18

I just now realized that I already blogged on Chapter 7 last week....woops! I guess I won't repeat myself.

What I can talk about is the Weebly site that we worked on during the first half of class Wednesday. I like the layout of the site and the tools it gives you to easily incorporate any elements you want into your website. It's extremely easy to use, but still maintains a professional appearance. Website builders with elements that have such a basic click, drag, type setup to them usually end up looking like they're intended for a younger audience (one that is just learning to become familiar with website building). However, the final outcome of the website ends up looking very professional and well put-together. The options for the backgrounds are not the best, but they're sufficient for a basic professional web page. It would be better if we could change the images in the headings. There may be a way to do this but it doesn't seem to be obvious. I still can't figure out why the web page seems to be so constricted to the center of the page. It doesn't allow you to make use of the ample amount of room on either side of the central work area in which you post all of your material. This was pretty frustrating because the layout of the page would look a lot better if it were spread out width-wise much more.

I like the idea of a professional portfolio because we could use them later for job interviews and as an addition to our resumes. Employers who are looking for someone who is well-acquainted with technology and intends on using it in their classroom would be very impressed with this addition to their resume/portfolio. Unfortunately, I feel that not ALL employers would see this as a strong asset, and it might go unappreciated in some cases. However, better safe than sorry, and if anything it's a good way to organize your own materials, files, and personal information. Most employers ARE looking for new ways to incorporate technology, and teachers who are willing to do so, since so many teachers are reluctant to explore its uses and resources.

I also think I will enjoy building the classroom website. There is a good chance that I may have to do this in my future job, since almost every school's website I have visited has personal websites for each teacher. Some of these are very uniform and obviously school-mandated, but there are many that have clearly been created, designed, and updated frequently by the teachers themselves. Even if the school doesn't use a program such as Edline, Blackboard, or GradeConnect, personal classroom websites can serve this function also if they are frequently updated by the teacher. I think this project will give us a great resource for the possibility of having to do this in the future, and I honestly think I'll have fun creating it!

11/11

As I was not in class last week, I cannot comment on the Powerpoint presentations that were given. However, I know from my own presentation that a lot of work must go into the final product, and I'm sure they were well-done.

Chapter 6 talked a lot about "hypermedia," and tools that assist students in things like graphic design, music recordings, videos, etc. Something I didn't realize was that simple graphics such as wordart and clipart fall under this category. Presentation software was also included this, and "electronic slideshows" such as PowerPoint was mentioned. More simplistic types of hypermedia such as PowerPoint and basic Word graphics are things I can see myself using in my classroom. Although the graphic design aspect didn't apply to me and my idea of what I will be doing with my students, there are other hypermedia tools I can incorporate. For example, several language teachers I have observed have assigned video projects for their students, conducted in the target language. Learning the technology basics of video-editing software may be essential to these types of projects, and refraining from using such a valuable learning tool because one is not familiar with this type of hypermedia would be a shame. The same could be done with an audio piece. Instead of performing dialogues in front of the class (a popular in-class assignment for foreign language teachers), a long-term project could be to record one in an audio file. Again, knowledge of this software is necessary, although an alternative to contemporary and potentially confusing software would be to use the basic sound recorder device built-in to most computers.

PowerPoint presentations are also great tools for research projects. In previous language classes, I have had to do research on countries that speak the target language, and PowerPoint is a great way to visually present information. Going along with this idea, the book also mentioned interactive research tools such as encyclopedias, almanacs, atlases, newspapers, etc which are available through software as well as online. A common misconception about foreign language classes is that writing, researching, and presentation skills are not applicable because the students are simply learning vocabulary grammar and pronunciation. However, the cultural aspects of the course are just as important as the language portion, which is where the research and project skills definitely come into play. Tools to assist with these aspects of language learning could be really beneficial.

10/4

I enjoyed the Vyew teleconference much more than I enjoyed the "babycakes" conference. The president was much more personable and explained things much more easily. I also feel that his product is MUCH more useful, particularly in the field of education. While I can't see myself subscribing to "babycakes," I definitely can see myself using Vyew for a group project with my class or for an online presentation. The man we spoke with did a great job of explaining and describing his product, while we were expected to already know most of the information about "babycakes." He took the time to specifically explain the educational uses of Vyew, which is most applicable to the class with whom he was speaking. I really enjoyed the medical example he gave, asking us to diagnose the patient based on the pictures and sound waves. I could see how this would be really useful for any type of class. I also noticed how during this part of the tutorial, he addressed some of us individually, inviting us to give our opinions. I compared this to calling on someone in class. This adds a very real element to the conference, making it extremely similar to being in an actual classroom presentation. He also gave us the quiz at the end to demonstrate how assessment could be administered through Vyew as well. We have looked at numerous products and online sources in this class, and with some of them I have definitely questioned their relevance to education. However, most likely because it was developed by a University, this product can definitely add a lot to an educational experience, and be very useful to both students and teachers.

Of the lesson plan websites shown in class, I was VERY disappointed to find that only 2 out of the 6 sites had a foreign language section for lesson plans. Of these two sites, Thinkfinity and Educator's Reference Guide, the lesson plans for French were extremely limited and not very useful. I looked through each one thoroughly and found only a few that were usable. The most useful website I have found on my own searches for French lesson plans has been Education World. Altogether, the resources for French lesson plans are unfortunately rather limited, but they are available if you look hard enough.

Chapter 6 was interesting, but personally not very relevant. I liked the explanations of how graphic design, screen design, audio and video can be programmed and used. I have many friends in the film and music areas, and have seen some of the software they use to complete projects. Programs such as Final Cut and Photoshop are interesting and fun to play around with. However, the actual authoring of programs and products that do these things is way over my head. I don't see myself personally writing any programs in the near future! Overall, however, it was at least interesting, and a nice change from the over-detailed explanations about things I already know.